Oil Consumption - is yours excessive ? POLL

[ATTAK Z]

I sold my Zed because, after nearly 7 years of ownership from new as I was becoming increasingly worried about the oil consumption. In fact, I part exchanged my Zed for a Polo because I did not want to sell it to forum member with all the ramifications that may have ensued.

 

I did share the details of the (in my view) excessive consumption with the usual forum experts and with my servicing garage, but have never posted the full details on the forum.

 

Having spoken with several other 350 Z owners, it appears that I have not been alone in having worries about high oil consumption, but they have all shared my own reticence to discuss on a public forum.

 

I thought it may be a good idea to get a broader opinion about oil consumption in the Zed so please feel free to add to the poll above and if you wish to remain anonymous you can do so.

 

I'll put my own up when a few others have polled

[Chris`I]

Mine used none from 26k miles (when I got it) to about 72k miles when it needed 0.5l between changes for the next two services (81k and 90k when I px'd it). I'm pretty happy it wasnt using very much oil at all tbh!

[AK350Z]

Think it was mostly the rev-up engines that could like a drink wasn't it?

[Chris`I]

Think it was mostly the rev-up engines that could like a drink wasn't it?

Officially, but wonder if some of the older cars (MY03-05) are now getting a bit thirstier? Mine never seemed to but would be interesting to see if anyone elses does.

[ATTAK Z]

Think it was mostly the rev-up engines that could like a drink wasn't it?

At the time , yes, but mine was a 2004 and the consumption got progressively worse

[JetSet]

Think it was mostly the rev-up engines that could like a drink wasn't it?

 

 

Yeah, there's some horror stories about the early rev-ups on The U.S forums...new engines after 5k,etc My 55reg doesn't use any but is pretty low mileage.

 

 

Pete

[Neilp]

I do a fair bit of my mileage on track and the oil is changed every 2k miles. I only cover about 4k miles a year. Between regular service intervals I use about 250ml per 1000miles depending on which oil I use.

[marzman]

Had 2 zeds, both 2003 models... i did 30k in my first zed and 5k in my second, and neither have used any oil at all.

[Ekona]

My revup used to use about half a litre between services, mixture of fast road and track use. Current car uses substantially more but that's a different story...

 

 

Certainly the engine in my old Zed never used anything that I wasn't expecting, very reliable lump

[DoogyRev]

I have a 2007 up rev (198Bhp) and I put about 3/4 litre in between services. I just check it every few weeks and top up as needed.

[ATTAK Z]

I have a 2007 up rev (198Bhp) and I put about 3/4 litre in between services. I just check it every few weeks and top up as needed.

low powered Zed that Doogy

[CaptainSensible]

I have an MY06 Zed and have to top up a couple of litres at most between services (probably a bit less in reality). Done 54,000 miles so far.

[Neilp]

I have an MY06 Zed and have to top up a couple of litres at most between services (probably a bit less in reality). Done 54,000 miles so far.

thats probably similar to mines to be honest. My cars done 27k and service far more than it need to be. It runs like a charm and to be honest with the high temps the engine oil can reach its not suprising that we lose some of the oil vapour

[rtbiscuit]

oil consumption can be done to many factors, you can turn a car that never burnt oil in to an oil consumer just by changing a small factor.

 

the brand of oil used

the viscosity

if its semi or fully synthetic

 

yes the car can start to burn more if the engine is wearing,the gaps on the pistons in the chambers can increase and allow more oil into the combustion process. also some engines burn oil as part of its own maintanence. the honda s2000 engine uses oil as does the RX8 engine, both due to the fact that they rev high.

 

oil consumption is not a bad thing as long as its monitored and maintained. i.e. if it uses oil check it and top it up.

 

if it burns oil you can try a thicker oil, some oils like magnatec are very thin, so going for a thicker oil can mean it won't get into the engine as eaisly or burn off as easily.

 

i some times think that people worry about an issue that might not be there, and actually its down to something as simple as the viscosity or brand of oil.

 

as a side note, as mileage stacks up on an engine especially high milers, it can often be good to step away from the manufactuers spec for viscosity and go thicker to match in with the age of the engine.

[ATTAK Z]

oil consumption can be done to many factors, you can turn a car that never burnt oil in to an oil consumer just by changing a small factor.

 

the brand of oil used

the viscosity

if its semi or fully synthetic

 

yes the car can start to burn more if the engine is wearing,the gaps on the pistons in the chambers can increase and allow more oil into the combu..........

 

as a side note, as mileage stacks up on an engine especially high milers, it can often be good to step away from the manufactuers spec for viscosity and go thicker to match in with the age of the engine.

 

that said, you can see from the poll that very high consumption is unusual and therefore worrying

[rtbiscuit]

up to about 2 - 3 litres i wouldn't be to worried if its always done that, my s2k used to use about 3 litres between services, but then thats what they do on the earleir engines.

 

who ever was getting through 9 litres i would be concerned, but i would want to know what they were putting in the engine. before i made comment.

 

on the zed i would say anthing up to about 2 litres, maybe 3 i wouldn't be to concerned.

 

i think what you have to worry about is if there is a dramatic change from the norm. then yes worry, but if the consumption is the same on every service, then the engine hasn't changed its operating function.

[ATTAK Z]

Any statisticians out there ?

 

Not a "normal distribution" IIRC

[Wasso]

Funny this subject has come up because I was having a good read on my350z last night and stumbled across the Revup oil issue. A large number of Americans chose not to purchase the revup which is why the HR was born. The oil consumption is much higher, it revs slightly higher, not only that but ive had my limit increased at Abbey, and from my experience the added hp has increased my consumption from 2-4 litres upto 4-5 litres.

 

I don't have any oil leaks neither am I burning oil, it consumes and it's well known for having a higher usage of oil.

[Mitch]

My z in the 16 months of owning it has never needed a top up between services n has no oil leaks

[martinmac]

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10168

 

Kev had a lot of problems and ended up with a replacement engine.

[evilscorp]

03 jdm 53k no top ups(once I replaced my faulty cam cover), every time I check im still shocked I dont have to. I had a honda too used to drink oil.

[Daryl]

Iv had my Zed nearly a year now,and since its first service with me,its never needed a top up,and thats with 10,000 miles. I like to hear the engine pulling to the top of the rev range too,aswell as a 30 mile each way commute. I do however makesure that if i start it up,i always makesure the car is warmed up before turning it off,even if im just moving the car to wash it or make room on the drive. I think this also helps.

I remember when Evo ran an S4/RS4 4.2 V8,they were worried about oil consumption,and Audi said anything less than 1L every 1000 miles was normal!

[ianphampton]

Mines a 2005 JDM. I had her UpRev'ed about a year ago.

 

I use Magnatec, and she's not a heavy drinker, but I top her up every 2k or so, perhaps 100cc each time, so it's maybe about the 1 litre between services.

 

I was told that 350Zs tend to use a bit of oil an so check her regularly, so it never develops into an issue.

 

The oil on the dipstick stays pretty clean, light in colour, so I don't think there's any underlying problems, and I think the 5W30 is pretty thin, (Compared to the old 20W50 I used in my earlier cars, which was like treacle!) so it's not really surprising she uses a little.

[Husky]

Whoever is using 9L of oil look out of the window. That's it, squint harder, now does it look anything like the below?

 

 

 

 

 

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You have an oil leak and need to get it sorted pronto, that's 2 gallons of oil!!

[Daryl]

I last saw one of these with its butt in a ditch,smashed front screen and smashed up side. I think abit of LOFT may have been involved!